Cover story


The benefits of ozone cleaning across a care home


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Jackie Hook, chemist from JLA, the UK’s leading partner for all critical equipment and servicing needs, explains how to apply the benefits of its patented ozone laundry system ozone cleaning across the entire care home


The rise of the much-feared second wave of Covid-19 has once again underscored the universal need for the highest levels of cleanliness, hygiene measures and infection control. Given care homes necessitate close


contact with residents, many of whom are more vulnerable to infection, care home managers will be placing an increased emphasis on hygiene measures throughout the facility. As the rapid rise – and recent return - of the virus has shown, exercising vigilance across all aspects of the environment is critical. For this reason, JLA’s proprietary


ozone disinfection system, OTEX - the original, market-leading commercial ozone disinfection system – is comprised of both industry-leading laundry and room sanitation systems, offering total protection across the entire care facility. With a second wave of the virus now a


reality, let us take a closer look at how ozone and, specifically, OTEX, can be used to facilitate best-in-class infection control throughout the laundry room – and beyond.


Maintaining hygiene standards in the laundry room Laundry hygiene in care homes is fundamental, given that incorrect handling, processing and storage of linen all present a preventable and - in the current climate - potentially high infection risk. Ozone disinfection


systems have a transformative impact in this area, particularly when compared to thermal counterparts.


Ozone vs. thermal disinfection For background, ozone is an alternative low temperature chemical disinfection system to thermal disinfection cycles, which rely on higher temperatures. With this system, ozone is injected directly into the water during the wash cycle. This is effective because ozone is


soluble in cold water and is a powerful disinfectant attacking bacteria, spores and viruses present on the textiles in the laundry load. Through this, any viruses or bacteria are destroyed, disinfecting the load entirely. As mentioned, ozone holds a number


of important advantages over thermal disinfection systems. For example, independent laboratory tests1


found that


OTEX shows a significantly better end wash for C.difficile compared to thermal, together with successful elimination of MRSA. Importantly, ozone is also far more


environmentally-friendly than thermal, which translates into operational cost savings for the business. Not only does ozone use both less


water and electricity per cycle – reducing utility bills – its effectiveness at lower temperatures in turn means there is a lesser requirement for heating, further saving energy and reducing a care


Perhaps most importantly given the current situation, earlier this year OTEX Laundry was scientifically proven to remove all traces of coronavirus from infected laundry loads


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DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT


homecare www.thecarehomeenvironment.com l December2020


The benefits of ozone cleaning across a carehome


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homes’ carbon footprint.2 Finally, ozone’s characteristic


properties also leave users with fresher- smelling laundry, which is also visually cleaner than it would be when laundered in traditional high temperaturewash cycles.


The OTEX Laundry system OTEX Laundry was pioneered in 2004 in response to rising healthcare infections and the need amongst care homes, hospitals and clinics for reassurance that their laundry could be kept hygienic amidst the rise of healthcare-associated infections (HCAI), such asC.difficile and MRSA. Furthermore, the technology was


recognised and accredited with a Level 1 recommendation from the Department of Health/NHS Rapid Review Panel in 2009. OTEX Laundry holds all the necessary


supportive efficacy data, having successfully passed assessment of compliance with Public Health England’s Health Technical Memorandum 01-04 current guidelines for the decontamination of linen in health and social care (HTM01-04). The system is also being fully supported in line with the EU Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR). Perhaps most importantly given the


current situation, earlier this year OTEX Laundry was scientifically proven to remove all traces of coronavirus from


www.thecarehomeenvironment.com• December 2020


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